KiwiCo in 2021

How KiwiCo Kept Things Interesting in 2021.

KiwiCo is a monthly subscription box that inspires kids to see themselves as makers; engineering and creating their own innovative designs and outcomes. They offer multiple lines of fun and enriching STEAM projects that are designed to spark creativity, tinkering, innovation, and learning. These lines start as early as infancy with Panda Crate and continue all the way up to ages 14+ with Maker Crate and Eureka Crate. KiwiCo is so popular it was voted as the best subscription box for kids in the 2021 readers’ choice awards! This year they had some exciting new additions and offerings including adding a brand new line to their existing roster.

What KiwiCo Got Right in 2021

Value

The Cost: $20.95 - $31.95 depending on which line (Save with longer subscriptions)

KiwiCo boxes are all so different from line to line, but what is guaranteed with each and every box is that you'll receive unique projects and all of the quality materials needed to create memorable learning experiences. While some projects and experiences are more exciting than others depending on your interests and preferences, overall, the value you receive each month is consistently pretty great!

Variety

KiwiCo has something for every age and a variety of interests:

• Panda Crate for 0-36-month-olds, 
• Koala Crate for 2-4-year-olds,
• Kiwi Crate for 5-8-year-olds, 
• Atlas Crate and Yummy Crate for 6-11-year-olds, 
• Doodle Crate and Tinker Crate for 9-16+-year-olds, 
• Eureka Crate and Maker Crate for ages 14 and up. 

Their newest line is Yummy Crate which teaches kids ages 6-11 the science of cooking through hands-on learning as they prepare different recipes in the kitchen. Check out what we thought of their newest line here!

Box Communication

I love that each month I can log in to our KiwiCo account and see what's on the way! They give a brief heads up about the box topic and what the crate will cover which is perfect for a homeschooling family like ours. This way I can choose to incorporate the box into our upcoming lesson plans if it makes sense, or plan a lesson entirely based on those concepts!

New Crates

In addition to adding a whole new line this year, KiwiCo also added some great new crates to their lineup along with some fun shop items. For Maker Crate, they added a Polymer Clay Succulent Box and for Atlas Crate, they added a Philippines crate (check out our review here!)

Here are a few of the fun new shop items we saw in 2021:

• Paleontologist Starter Kit 5.0  
• Levitating Lantern 
• Environmental Science: Oil Cleanup (with Book)
• Science of Cooking: Ice Cream 
• Fort Builder Kit 
• Splash Blasters 
• Ice Dye 
• Domino Machine (collaboration with Mark Rober)

I have my eye on the Fort Builder Kit, the Ice Dye box, and definitely the Ice Cream box! They would make some great gifts!

Good Gifting Opportunity

Speaking of gifts; just in time for the holidays, KiwiCo has begun a new feature called Group Gifting which makes it easier for family and friends to contribute towards a gift of a KiwiCo subscription. Parents simply set up a wishlist with what their kids would like from KiwiCo and then invite others to contribute whatever amount they would like. Also, if you're worried about gifting a long-term subscription to a child, but unsure that it will hold their interest, you can rest assured that they can switch lines at any time!

Designed for Families

KiwiCo caters to families and aims to make life easier for them. They have both DIY and Blog pages with activities and resources and over the summer, they brought back Camp KiwiCo which included activities for kids of all ages. This was a mix of STEAM-themed free printables and videos which KiwiCo told us had over 15 million views in 3 months! Parents also had the opportunity to pair these free resources with KiwiCo crate projects that matched the daily theme to extend their camp experience.

What I Would Like to See in 2022

It seems that in all of my time reviewing KiwiCo boxes I have reached the end of the Doodle Crate projects and the Eureka Crate projects that are available. I enjoy both of those lines and the unique projects included within them, so I would love to see some new crates for these lines in the future!

Overall, I'm just really looking forward to the creative projects that they send our way and seeing how they manage to make their educational topics fun and engaging for my kids.

Our Favorite Projects from KiwiCo in 2021

Here are a few of our favorite projects from various lines this year:

Koala Crate "Camping" from our March 2021 Review

This year Becca's family had a great time with their camping-themed Koala Crate box. She says it was their favorite because it allowed them to play together as a family by setting up a tent and "cooking" s'mores inside the comfort of their home. She also noted a sentiment that I couldn't agree more with; "I’ll forever be impressed with the quality supplies and the well thought out activities this box sends." Even with a box aimed at such a young age, they still make sure all the details are appropriate and engaging!

Kiwi Crate "Powerful Pumps" from our August 2021 Review

My daughter had a really tough time narrowing her top choice down to just one, but this Powerful Pumps box was the one she said she enjoyed the most this year! Not only did she create a pump that was able to blow up a balloon, but she also got to turn that balloon into art. Then she took that pump and made it into a water pump. Finally, we turned it into a carwash which she was eager to share with her little brother who loves cars and thought it was super cool! She learned about pumps and had fun applying that knowledge through these hands-on projects which made for a meaningful learning experience. What more could we ask for?

Atlas Crate "Costa Rica" from our March 2021 Review

Costa Rica was such a fun country to explore! My son loved learning about the animals that can be found there and he was super excited to make his own scarlet macaw that actually flapped its wings! I think it turned out so beautiful thanks to the way they designed our build and the incredibly detailed directions they provided. This was also a great box to split between my son and daughter since she was able to make a detailed mini Carreta that actually moved and has been used to transport toys since she made it.

Yummy Crate "Tasty & Toasty" from our November 2021 Review

Okay, so granted, we only reviewed one box from this brand new line, but it was so cool! My daughter loved it! Not only did it provide recipes and a cooking tool for us, but they really went into the science of cooking by sharing about the Maillard Reaction! There was an experiment component in addition to the life skills we covered through the cooking process and to top it all off, our meal was pretty delicious, too!

Doodle Crate "Woven Landscape" from our March 2021 Review

Most of the time I let the kids do these projects, but sometimes they are a bit outside their developmental level since they are younger which means I get to do them instead. This woven landscape was one of those months and I loved being able to try out a new art technique! This project was just a bit challenging and new for me, but they provided such great guidance in their instructions so I think that my landscape actually turned out pretty cool!

Tinker Crate "Vacuum Chamber" from our May 2021 Review

My daughter had so much fun with this box! She absolutely loved this vacuum chamber that she created and thought it was such a blast to grow these tiny marshmallows inside the chamber. She was so inspired by this and went all around the house trying to find things that she could test out in the vacuum chamber, and I think that was my favorite part - just seeing the wheels turn in her brain and watching her conduct her own experiments!

Maker Crate "Stenciled Book Holder" from our November 2021 Review

I've only done a few projects with Maker Crate so far, but I was so pleased with how this one turned out and I love the fact that it is actually useful and practical! The stencil process was made so easy with the materials they provided and then I was able to easily put together a sturdy book holder thanks to the simple instructions. This is currently sitting in our living room looking stylish and holding several of our books!

Changes to KiwiCo in 2021

This year KiwiCo did have to increase its prices slightly. Here's what they had to say about the increase:

KiwiCo promises to deliver STEM, STEAM, science and art kits that provide serious fun and hands-on learning for kids of all ages. In order to continue delivering this promise and to create even more fun activities for families, we increased prices across all subscription lines as of October 5th, 2021. As always, the renewing 6 month and 12 month subscriptions will continue to provide the best value for our customers!

Who do I recommend KiwiCo for?

With so many different lines and varying topics within them, KiwiCo really can be for anyone! While most are geared toward kids, I have personally enjoyed creating projects with Maker Crate and Eureka Crate, so I think adults could even appreciate these subscriptions, too!

What were your fave KiwiCo boxes this year? Let me know in the comments!